For the second time this year I've received a card in the post that has had the envelope opened when I got it. And neatly opened, on one edge, not ripped by careless handling. The card was still in it. It was also opened on the correct edge to be able to look inside the card (i.e. not the spine).

Joke's on them, because I'm far to old to be getting a tenner in a Christmas card, more's the pity, but is it just me or is this becoming more common? Are posties getting more light-fingered, or what?

My dad lives 90 miles away and says he's had it happen to cards he's sent on a number of occasions, although not to any he's received.

by blackleydynamo

23 comments

  1. Yeah, suspicious. I had a (expensive) book through the post and it had the same. Because it was laptop / tablet size and about the same weight someone had neatly opened one corner to see what it was (to see if it was worth stealing), lucky for me no one want’s Armour of the English Knight 1450-1500 – by Tobias Capwell

  2. This is just the unfortunate reality of putting Fabergé eggs inside birthday and Christmas cards.

  3. My mum’s elderly cousin still sends her cards for my siblings children with a fiver in. The majority of the time the cards have been opened and the money removed. It has been going on for years, she used to do it for my daughter when she was a kid and I told my mum to tell her multiple times not to put money in yet she hasn’t listened and still does it. Royal Mail are sus.

  6. I sent my sister a gift card for her birthday and it just plain didn’t show up. Thanks Royal Mail!

  7. It will be the staff in the mail sort centre, usually temp over Christmas. Posties would usually never do this.

    Fun fact, if you still get Christmas cards via the post, look around the edges, and sometimes you’ll see a little slit. The thieves will put in a 1/2cm slit there so they can look inside the card to identify money. That way, any that don’t have any in will process as normal, and no one will really suspect it as being tampered with.

    Edit: I’ve just read your full post, and you have described the exact situation as above. I’ve not been a postie for about 13 years, and sadly, it seems like it’s still rife.

  8. Given that stamps are expensive there should be compensation for this happening.

  9. Pourquoi est-ce que l’étiquette est également écrite en français ?

  10. Times are hard…. they’re taking the 50p’s your nans are taping inside….

  11. Practical advice from someone at Royal Mail: don’t put money in cards with coloured envelopes. It’s awful and shouldn’t happen but thieves focus on trying to steal from birthday and Christmas cards, colourful envelopes are a dead giveaway.

    I owe my friend money and she won’t use any cash apps so I need to send her the cash. You can be sure the envelope will be white.

    This isn’t intended to be victim blaming or overlook the crime that is happening, and people are right that regular posties almost never do this. Someone was caught stealing in my local depot and the staff were appalled. It’s not something the staff look the other way on.

  12. We haven’t sent money in cards for years now because of this. This year one of my birthday cards was just completely missing from the envelope which they kindly packaged up in a plastic bag saying “we’re sorry (no compensation though, fuck you)”

  13. If i *have* to send money in the post I use a plain white envelope double up and tape up all the edges. Am I paranoid? Maybe but its happened far to many times. scum bag thieves.

  15. Elderly relative posted 2 cards to us, both with £20 in (I know, I know. We told her before and she still won’t listen!).

    Both arrived open, cash gone.

    Scumbags.

  16. I’d say it’s worth reporting. If someone is doing this, and it’s the second time it’s happened to you, it seems someone is being brazen and is feeling like they’re untouchable. Just tampering with mail like that could be a jailable offence, and they’re clearly on the festive rob with the Christmas cards. Who knows what else they might be swiping

  17. My nan sends all our cards inside brown envelopes because she’s so paranoid about this

  18. Posties looking for fivers! 😀

    <Awaits downvotes from the posties. Note to self: Do not provoke the posties>

  20. Highly unlikely posties or temp staff are going around checking Christmas cards for anything valuable. Seriously if you saw the amount there are you’d realise this would be a complete waste of time for even the keenest of scumbags.

  22. Fragile cards and lick and stick envelopes are ideally sorted by hand but when volumes are high they are run through huge machines that tumble them, spray ink on them and fire them through tight rollers using forced jets of air at a rate of 30-100,000 per hour. If you have a cheap lick and stick envelope and fire a jet of air at the flap side it will often inflate the envelope and basically open anything not stuck down well. Hand made cards with diamantes, decoupage and other uneven thickness are even worse.

    They will be run through machine probably 3 or 4 different times before getting to you and each time the envelope will have the possibility of more damage. If it has the orange rows of printed dots it has been run through machine.

    Same goes for parcels through sorting machines, they are ‘tipped’ from containers like a bin lorry onto fast moving conveyors with rollers.

    Moral of the story: package well!
    Good envelopes, ideally not lick and stick, if you use tape to seal them, make it flat and neat so the tape doesn’t come unstuck and get caught in rollers or on other letters.
    Same for parcels, the amount of clothing sent in flimsy brown paper or Christmas wrap at this time of year, with ribbons on the outside that get caught up on everything or sellotape that wouldn’t stick to anything. If it’s fragile or handle with care, pack it as such! A machine tips it from height and hundreds of other parcels fall on top of it, Janet in your local mail centre isn’t picking it up carefully and taking it from place to place!

    As far as repairs, often those labels are all that’s available and if I do repairs I’ve often got 10 minutes at the end to get them sorted before despatch time so they’re not delayed. I don’t stamp them, I just use whatever bags, tape or labels there is available to get them gone ASAP.

    Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

  23. Haha, your old dad, bless him, has been sending people cards with the envelope already ripped, so he can say he sent money but didn’t. The wiley old punk.

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